“This is a red line for the United States,” then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the time. “I am not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur.”

If the Assad regime has indeed taken this barbaric, murderous step, it will be difficult to turn back the clock. Military intervention by the United States and/or its allies, or a major augmentation of military aid to rebel forces, could be coming.

[1] British media reports that chemical weapons may have been used by the regime.: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9991676/British-scientists-find-evidence-of-Syrian-chemical-attack.html#mm_hash

[2] report from The Times: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3738391.ece